Cable raceways are used for supporting high or low voltage cables in residences and commercial buildings. One such cable raceway system was proposed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/471,151, which shares common ownership and inventorship with the present invention and has been incorporated herein by reference thereto. The cable raceway system of the parent application included a cable tray that was supported from an overhead support that included a pivoting hinge arm. The hinge arm was capable of being released thereby allowing downward rotation of the hinge arm and the cable tray to permit inspection of any cables within the cable tray or the addition of additional cables if desired.
The cable raceway system of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/471,151 thereby provided a system for eliminating the bending or sagging of cables or bundles of cables. Bending or sagging of conductors can adversely affect the data transmission rate, which becomes very critical in cables having higher transmission rates, such as Category 5 telecommunications cables.
The current invention provides enhancements over the cable raceway of the parent application, including a mechanism for supporting the cable raceway from a vertical surface such as a wall and an improved coupler for securing various cable tray portions together. Additionally there are provided 90-degree bends and T-raceway portions for added functionality in constructing cable raceway systems. The cable support assembly of the present invention includes a hinged arm that can be pivoted downward to enable easy lowering of the cable tray, when desired, to facilitate inspection, repair, or installation of additional cables.